


Blame Game

by crazywrite



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Bruce & Hulk Interaction, Bruce Banner Has Issues, Civil War Team Iron Man, Gen, Nonbinary Character, Not A Fix-It, Not Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie) Compliant, Sorry Not Sorry
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-16
Updated: 2019-06-17
Packaged: 2020-05-12 16:06:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,140
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19232470
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/crazywrite/pseuds/crazywrite
Summary: Hulk wants answers, and he's going to get them.Bruce is just there along for the ride.





	1. Recombobulation

It was always disorienting, waking up after being the Hulk. Most of the time, it was because Bruce had no idea where he was. Hulk was flighty once the fight was done and could be across continents in mere hours. He’d woken up in so many different places, from a forest floor hundreds of miles away from civilization to the rooftop of a Chicago high rise. 

And really, from now on everything was small beans after waking up on  _ a different fucking planet _ .

Bruce had described it to Tony on that fateful day on the Helicarrier as being exposed like a nerve, and it was the damn truth. The first few days after de-hulking were complete and utter hell. His body had to remember how to be a normal human again and that usually meant a hell of a lot of pain for a few days. The only way to combat it was to sleep a lot and eat Hulk’s entire body weight in calories.

He stretched out slowly, groaning as his muscles screamed in protest. It was muggy wherever Hulk had decided to stop, the air fragrant with early morning fog. The ground was soft and yielding under him, too soft for the jungle floor. It was then that he noticed there was a weight thrown over him. Bruce yawned and some of that weight fell to his chin, nose filling with the smell of laundry detergent and wool.

A blanket. So someone had found his poor half-naked ass, dragged him inside somewhere, and threw a blanket over him. Not the worst way of waking up, Bruce supposed, but it was weird as heck. In the back of his mind, Hulk stirred groggily. He turned his thoughts towards his green co-pilot.  _ Where the hell are we? _ Bruce asked.

**_Hulk track,_ ** he said with a tinge of pride.  **_Hulk find._ **

Bruce frowned, mouth opening to ask Hulk just what the fuck he was talking about when he heard the soft murmur of voices. He stilled on instinct, Hulk rearing defensively. Tony had assured him that he was no longer an enemy of the US Army but after Sokovia and . . . everything else, Bruce wouldn’t be all that surprised if the warrant had gone out again.

“He’s awake, right? Shouldn’t he be up by now?”

“Let him sleep,” another replied. The voice had the ringing finality of someone in charge. It was also incredibly familiar but Bruce couldn’t put his finger on it. Sakaar had changed things for him, but apparently fuzzy post-Hulk brain was not one of those things.

“He won’t turn into the Hulk again, right?” the voice from earlier asked, chuckling nervously. “I’d really hate to explain that to King T’challa.” King . . . T’challa? Where exactly was he? 

“I can control him if he reacts violently,” another voice said, crisp with an eastern European accent. It sent shivers down his spine.

It was like trying to lift steel beams with his fingertips but Bruce somehow managed to open his eyes. He’d been expecting some nondescript hotel but what he got was a large living room with various geometric patterns scattered throughout the room. It was austere yet at the same time, the carved wooden walls seamlessly blended with the television, which appeared to be completely holographic. 

_ Well, _ Bruce thought,  _ this is better than some seedy jungle hut _ .

“Hey, you’re awake now,” the second voice said. Bruce’s vision finally cleared and he met the wide blue eyes of Captain America.

“Where am I?” he asked.

“Wakanda,” Steve said simply. 

Wakanda? Why the hell was he in Wakanda? Hulk had tapped out and wasn’t going to be of any help. “Why . . . what?”

His brain decided to finally come online at that precise moment. Oh right, they were in Wakanda because half of the team had  _ multiple international warrants _ . Bruce wasn’t all that surprised that the Avengers had split up. The foundation was irrevocably cracked even before they became “the team.” Add that, plus multiple explosive personalities and frankly abusive dynamics and it was a recipe for disaster.

What had he called it on the helicarrier? Oh yeah—a chemical mixture that makes chaos. Of course, they’d all been affected by the Mind Stone but it still rang true. Sure, they worked well together in combat but out of it? It was a toxic nightmare.

Not for the first time, Bruce wished Hulk hadn’t left Natasha and the rest of the Avengers. Hulk had latched onto the idea of leaving and thought it would be for the greater good— **_Hulk make no more hurt_ ** was his reasoning—but his departure had brought more harm than both of them intended. With their absence, all of the blame fell to Tony. Which in itself was a ticking time bomb; Tony’s reactionary guilt was a force to be reckoned with. And apparently Cap and his new flock was having none of that shit. They’d all but pushed him into resigning as an active Avenger. 

“Is everything okay?” Steve asked, crouching so he was at Bruce’s level. Irritation bubbled under his skin. Steve had always treated him with kid gloves, like he was one second away from hulking out. He’d also looked at Bruce with thinly-veiled pity, like he was saddened that the super soldier serum had made him into a monster and not a super soldier. Not really a good feeling coming from the team leader.

Bruce shook his head. “Yes, I’m fine. I’m  _ fine _ .” He slowly sat up, pulling the blanket around himself. The last few moments before Hulk took control suddenly came back to him. Tony had been telling him, Thor, and Loki what had happened during their little space sabbatical. How the pressure against them had escalated after Sokovia and the UN pushed to finalize something that had been floating around since the Battle of New York. Bruce understood accountability—without some sort of guide, people could and  _ would _ do whatever they wanted—but apparent Cap had major objections giving up the reins.

And then they’d had a Civil War.

The memory of Tony staring unseeingly out at the Compound grounds was as vivid as Steve’s blue eyes. While Steve resisted everything, Tony had done his damnedest to control the damage, even going so far as to cozy up to General (sorry,  _ Secretary _ ) Ross. Tony had told the story with barely an inflection up until he mentioned Siberia.

Tony’s entire worldview changed with a single tape and the man currently trying to help Bruce had defended a murderer. And, to make matters even shittier, Rogers and Barnes tag-teamed Tony.

One normal person in an already compromised metal suit versus two super soldier could hardly be considered a fair fight.

Bruce clenched his fists and he could hear Steve’s intake of breath. Hulk perked up again, silently asking to come out.  _ No, not right now, _ Bruce thought. Hulk huffed petulantly but backed off. He looked up and gave Steve a smile. “I’m good.”

Steve nodded, eyes still wary. “Oh, okay.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “Are you hungry?”

The yawning gap made itself known in his stomach. “Uh, yeah. What do you have?”

**_Pizzzzzzzzza!_ ** Hulk said, drawing out the word until it was a nonsensical rumble. Bruce’s mind filled with all the food he’d missed while on Sakaar. The more he thought about it, the higher pizza went up on that list. “Do you have any pizza?”

“We can get some,” Steve said. He stood and walked off somewhere behind the couch. Bruce dug his toes into the soft rug underneath his toes, and formulated a plan. It appeared Steve and his cohorts hadn’t realized that the newly-minted Revengers were now on the same planet. And oh, he could definitely use this to his advantage.

Bruce stood, his legs wobbling only slightly. The pants he’d filched from a dead Asgardian had somehow made the trek, the waistband loose around his hips but still functional. He pulled the blanket around himself and walked around the couch to the window that overlooked the mountains. Steve’s voice wafted from the adjoining kitchen. There had been other voices earlier, so where were they? They weren’t hiding from him, were they?

Bruce stared out at the fog-drenched jungle and wondered why Hulk had come  _ here _ of all places. Fuzzy memories bounced in his head, of running through the jungle, tracking some invisible wavelength. Apparently Hulk had swam the entirety of the Atlantic and trekked across central Africa just to find the rest of the Team.

_ How’d you find them? _ Bruce asked, turning his thoughts towards Hulk.

**_Cap A smell,_ ** he said.  **_Like radi-ation._ **

Huh.

Steve’s voice broke through his reminiscing. He’d retreated down a hallway past the dining room and was apparently knocking on doors. Bruce watched as, one by one, the rest of Steve’s (ex)Avengers came out of their rooms. That was such a nice feeling, having people retreat to their rooms when you woke up.

He needed information and what better cover than a meal? He'd get a chance to ask the “team” exactly what the fuck they accomplished by dismissing a document meant to protect the same people they'd hurt.

Bruce smirked and in the reflection, Hulk grinned back.


	2. Reconnaissance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bruce gives the "Team" a piece of his mind.
> 
> Hulk just wants to smash.

It was awkward to say the least.

Bruce was the only one that ate, demolishing wafer-thin slices of Wakanda’s finest. It was good but Bruce would be content with cardboard covered in grease at this point. Hulk practically purred, sated for now by the lure of comfort food. The rest of Cap’s team pushed their food around on their plates, nibbled daintily at corners, or refused to eat altogether. Maximoff in particular looked uncomfortable, her eyes flashing red and her grip unnervingly tight around her knife.

Once the distraction of food was gone, Bruce began his master plan. He was no spy but he hadn’t survived for years by being completely honest. When you were a fugitive, you either learned to be crafty or you ended up dead or worse. He’d even psyched out SHIELD’s finest. Ah, those were the times. “So . . .” he said, glancing around. “Where’s the rest of the team?”

Steve frowned. “Bruce . . . this is the team.”

“What?” The shock sounded comical in his ears but he hoped it would be enough. Let them believe he was just a bumbling scientist with no social skills. “But where’s Tony? Vision? Natasha?”

“Stark retired,” Barton said, eyes unflinching and stormy. He looked nothing like the man Bruce remembered. Not that they were particularly close but still. “Dunno where Vision is but he’s probably with Stark. And Nat’s . . . underground.” Bruce filed that information away for later.

“Okay. What happened?” Of course he knew what happened. Cap had a hissy fit because he couldn’t just romp around and punch Hydra goons without consequences. 

“There was an incident in Lagos. We were going after Crossbones—Brock Rumlow, that is—and he attempted to blow himself up. Wanda managed to contain the blast but . . . there were casualties.” 

Wanda shrugged. “Twenty-two people died. But that’s better than an entire marketplace, right?” Bruce grit his teeth. No, it really wasn’t. Any sort of civilian casualty was uncalled for. But of course Maximoff wouldn’t understand that. She’d set off the Hulk on a populated city, after all.

“And then Ross came and slapped this massive document in our laps and said they were going to be ratified in three days,” Sam, Steve’s friend continued. Bruce didn’t really know Sam that much but he knew a follower when he saw one.

“Wait, Ross? As in _ General Ross _ ?” The anger in his voice was somewhat genuine.

Steve nodded. “Yeah. Apparently he’s Secretary of State now. But he gave us an ultimatum—sign or retire. And Bruce, you’ve gotta believe me, those Accords would make us the government’s attack dogs.”

He nodded, knowing damn well that the Accords were probably the least severe proposal. At least the Registration Act had been shot down. “But this doesn’t explain why you’re in Wakanda.”

“It’s a long story,” the dark-haired guy said. Bruce had no idea who he was or what his powers could possibly be.

“Well, we have the time.” Bruce leaned back in his chair. He was stuck with these people for the foreseeable future.

Steve sighed and began recounting what happened after Lagos. Peggy Carter died suddenly and instead of signing the Accords in Vienna with the rest of the team, Steve and Sam went to the funeral instead. And while he was there, the UN building was bombed right when they were ratifying the Accords. Everyone thought it was the Winter Soldier, who just so happened to be Steve’s long-lost friend but Steve was convinced it wasn’t him.

Instead of doing the sane thing and waiting for confirmation from actual police officers, Steve decided to confront Bucky on his own in Bucharest. Of course, everything went to shit. The German task force went into Barnes’ apartment. Both supersoldiers flipped out and nine task force members died in their escape. They took another fifteen civilian lives when the chase—now including Black Panther and Falcon—migrated to the streets. It all culminated in Barnes collapsing a bridge, hence the fifteen casualties. It was then that they finally surrendered.

But that was only the beginning. While being detained, Tony did his damndest to do damage control, even offering to brush away everything that had happened in Bucharest if Steve just signed the Accords. But Steve refused, insisting that he couldn’t do it, “because he locked up Wanda like an animal, Bruce, really!” 

Bruce’s mind conjured up walls plated with adamantium and men and women with leers that told Bruce he wasn’t human, just a freak of science that needed to be put down for the greater good. A compound full of modern technology and modern comfort was not a fucking cage.

But to Steve it was a dealbreaker, and he refused to sign the Accords again. And then a Sokovian agent by the name of Helmut Zemo set off the seemingly contained Winter Soldier. And because it was his precious Bucky, Steve had to go after him, opting to trust a Russian super-soldier rather than his own teammate. 

Tony had been given an ultimatum: get the Rogues in custody in 48 hours or Ross was going to send in his own men. And while it rankled Bruce to no end that Tony had actually worked with the man who’d declared once upon a time that his body was government property, you had to make some concessions. For the greater good, and all that jazz. (Tony was also working on digging up all the dirt on old Thunderbolt, so Bruce had a feeling he wouldn’t enjoy his Secretary status that much longer.)

“Stark wasn’t going to back down, so we had to do something,” Barton said. “And then we faced off in Leipzig.” 

Yes, Bruce had heard of the battle at the airport. It had been absolute carnage, superhero fighting superhero and not giving a damn about who would be affected. It had gone so far that James Rhodes was irrevocably injured and yet that didn’t bother Rogers and Barnes, who slipped away to Siberia when the coast looked clear.

With the airport in ruins, those that hadn’t escaped were carted off to the Raft. Which Bruce had intimate knowledge of but what they described was far from the cages that housed the Raft’s nastier prisoners. That was where the Abominations resided. But Steve made it out to be the worst thing that had ever happened to them. Maximoff spat that they had stuffed her in a straightjacket and a power-dampening collar.

“Yeah, sure,” Bruce muttered. Straightjackets and collars were nothing compared to that time where a particularly sadistic general ordered Hulk to be vivisected and his body parts put in jars. Hulk was proud of how he got them out, which included a supersonic snap. 

“When we got to Siberia, Zemo was already there. He showed something to Tony, and he went ballistic,” Steve said, his closed off and eyes darting somewhere beyond Bruce’s shoulder. Even if he didn’t know the truth, Bruce could tell that Captain America was not being honest. “Bucky and I managed to disarm him before we broke everyone out of the Raft. T’challa offered us asylum in Wakanda. Bucky went into cryo not long after and we’ve been here ever since.” Ah, so that was where the Winter Soldier was.

“And that’s that,” Steve finished.

Bruce rubbed his chin. Some of Steve’s actions made more sense now but it still perplexed him how things could blow up so fast. And how in the world did Barton and the new guy get involved? Honestly, Bruce wouldn’t be surprised if this was some alternate universe. Maybe it was Loki’s fault, that tricksy little shit. 

Hulk had a few prime words for the Team and he wasn’t going to mince words.  **_Cap Team hurt Tin Man and Metal Child and Other Tin Man. Meanies. All of them. ‘Specally Red Witch. Hulk wants to SMASH them. But not smash them to death. Just a little smash._ **

Bruce internally rolled his eyes and then turned his attention to the others. “Now everything makes a little more sense,” Bruce said. “But there are a few things I don’t get.”

“Like what?”

Well, best to go to for the jugular. “First off, why is she here?” He pointed an accusing finger at Maximoff. That nasty part of him relished in her indignation.

“I’m an Avenger! I help people!” she cried.

Bruce snorted. “Oh, so showing people their greatest fears and letting loose the Hulk on innocent civilians is the actions of an Avenger?”

“Bruce . . .” Steve’s patronizing look sent shivers down his spine. And to think Bruce looked up to him all those years ago. “She’s just a kid. She didn’t know what she was doing.”

“She’s not a child!” Bruce slammed his hands on the table and everyone at the table instinctively jumped. “She’s twenty-three, Steve, and I’m pretty sure that means she’s a legal adult in most countries.”

“I made a mistake, I said I’m sorry. What more do you want?” Her dismissive tone said otherwise.

“You know what I saw. You know what everybody saw. And yet they welcome you with open arms.” He looked closely at Maximoff and for once, she looked fearful. “Who knows, maybe you’re controlling them now.” It was entirely possible. Even during the Ultron fiasco, Steve and Clint had acted . . . off. Magic could be a big factor and likely exacerbated the problems that had existed since the beginning. 

“But I have a few more questions.” Bruce turned to Steve. “Tell me, Steve, why do you trust these people but leave Tony and anybody who is friends with him?”

Steve frowned. “Bruce, what are you talking about?”

The pent up feelings came out in a rush. “I may have been gone for all this mess but I remember how you always doubted him. Always questioned him at every step of the way. Yes, he’s abrasive and slick, but you never looked deeper than that. I made a point to befriend him, and what did you all do? Decided that we were the outsiders outside of the battlefield. All you cared about was where Iron Man shot his repulsors and who Hulk smashed. Outside of combat, we weren’t in your in-group. Iron Man and Hulk, yes. Tony and Bruce? Not recommended. And what we were doing back then all those long nights in the lab, we were trying to help people.”

“Right, you and Stark created Ultron,” Barton muttered. 

Bruce took a deep breath, steeling himself from the Hulk who was pushing at the barriers of his mind. “We created Ultron, yes. But we never in a million years expected him to go ballistic. It was the Mind Stone that fucked everything up.” He snorted ruefully. If he had the Time Stone, he would do nearly everything over. But he didn’t and he and the rest of the Avengers had to take their lumps and own up to the reasons that brought them to this point.

Bruce looked out to the people he’d once called teammates. Steve and Clint looked tight as a spring, ready to snap if he even twitched in a threatening manner. Sam was a bit more relaxed, but Bruce knew that soldier-at-attention anywhere. The new guy, who Bruce had learned was named Scott, looked like he was watching the world’s most dangerous game of tennis. Maximoff’s eyes were a steady red He needed to divert their attention, and fast. 

“I must admit, I’m jealous.”

The bait worked and the tense atmosphere dissipated, replaced with confusion. “Jealous . . . about what?” Maximoff asked.

Bruce spread his hands. “This! You guys are in the lap of luxury. A roof over your heads, three meals a day, hell you even have cable TV.” He leaned back and shook his head wistfully. “You have no idea what it’s really like.”

“The fuck are you talking about?” Clint snarled.

He gave the former SHIELD agent a dry look. “You’ve read my file, Agent Barton. I was a fugitive for years and I never had it this good.”

“Oh, yes, we’ve heard all about your little sob story. How you had to live under the radar, always running away.” Barton sneered nastily. “And look what happened after Sokovia. You fucking ran.”

“I couldn’t come back if I wanted to.” Better to let them believe he just swam to Fiji and played doctor for a while, instead of becoming the galaxy’s favorite fighter in the Contest of Champions. (Not that they’d be inclined to believe him but better to be safe than sorry.)

“I’ve seen your mind.” Red mist curled around Wanda’s fists and Hulk growled in warning. He would  _ smash _ the Red Witch if she even moved to hurt Banner. “You are a coward. Even when you are the monster, all you do is run.”

He growled under his breath and watched the others reach for the weapons that weren’t there. Bruce took a deep breath and leaned back. “You never trusted me. Always acting like I was one moment away from losing it. You wanna know why I left?” He made a sweeping gesture. “It’s because of _ you _ .”

“Bruce—” Steve’s voice took on that tone like he was talking to a child who didn’t know better.

“No, Steve, I have  _ every right _ to be angry.” And he was, oh most definitely, but the Hulk backed off. Bruce used the bigger words, after all. 

The sound of the doors opening released the tension of the room. Bruce straightened as a scary-looking woman in red armor entered and made a beeline for him. “Doctor Banner, there is a message for you,” she said and held out a cellphone.

“Thank you,” he said and bowed his head respectfully.

A small smile appeared on her lips before it faded as she looked over the ex-Avengers. “You are guests here but if you come to blows, we have every right to revoke that.”

And with one more look at the Avengers assembled, including Bruce, she stalked out and the doors closed behind. Bruce took a deep breath and looked down at the sleek phone in his hands. 

“I should take this,” he said eventually, rising from the table. The others said nothing as he walked to the kitchen. It wasn’t that far really, but the false sense of privacy would have to do.

“Hello?” he said into the phone.

“Doctor Banner?” It was Vision. It felt like a breath of fresh air to hear xir voice.

“Hey, long time no see!” He knew Steve and the others were no doubt listening in.

The confusion was palpable from Vision’s side. “Bruce, I don't understand . . .”

“Oh yeah, I've been here and there, you know how it is.” He waited a moment and then pressed the phone close to his face. “I need you to do something, Viz.”

“Okay,” xe said.

“I need you to find a StarkPad or a computer.” A rustling sound came from the other end. “You got one?”

“Yes . . .” Vision replied, confusion evident in xir voice. 

“Look in the apps for a game called ‘HULK SMASH.’ It should have a green fist as an icon.” The sound of kitschy 8-bit music filtered from other end. “Okay, when it asks you to log in, use the username dr_banner and the password GREENSKIN, all caps.”

There was silence on the other end and then Bruce heard xem laugh. “Smart, Doctor Banner. It’s a map.”

“Show it to Tony, Thor, anyone you can trust.” He glanced over his shoulder to see the others pointedly ignoring his conversation. “I don’t want to be here longer than I need to.”

“Why does the map say you're in the middle of a mountain?” xe asked. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's the thing we've all been waiting for: Bruce lays into Team Cap.
> 
> The Bruce I like to write isn't a living doormat for the others to step over. He's angry and hurting and bitterly sarcastic, so seeing him reduced to a sighing, tea-drinking agoraphobe that sometimes moonlights as Hulk is a damn shame if you ask me. (And if you've been keeping up with Ewing's amazing Immortal Hulk, there are a few easter eggs in this chapter ;) )
> 
> Leave a kudo and/or a comment if you enjoyed!


End file.
